Well that didn’t take long. The lame-stream media, always prepared to carry Obama’s water, is hitting back at Mitt Romney. Because Romney dared to point out the foolishness of Obama’s “the private sector is doing OK, we need more public employee unionistas” remark from yesterday.

Their spin? Romney hates cops. Presumably because he hasn’t called for the full militarization of every mall security guard and parking garage attendant in America.

The idea that we need more police is laughable. America the Police State has far too much law enforcement as it is, thank you very much.

Let’s count all of the overlapping, duplicative, redundant agencies which feed at the public trough in the name of keeping us “safe.”

My town of Caldwell, less than one square mile in size, has 22 full-time police officers. Most of whom earn in excess of $100,000 per year. Then there’s our Auxilliary Police, citizen volunteers used mostly for traffic control.

Not to be outdone, Essex County has an elected Sheriff, with deputies, and sheriff’s officers. Don’t confuse them with the county Park Police though, or the county Corrections Officers. Also at the county level, the Narcotics Task Force, the Gang Task Force, and the County Prosecutor’s Office Division of Investigations. Essex County College down the road in West Caldwell has its own cops too. As does just about every other college and university in the state.

Don’t forget the New Jersey State Police, New Jersey Transit Police, and take a deep breath, all these agencies with official police powers, including the right to carry guns and make arrests: NJ DEP Marine Law Enforcement Unit, NJ Dept of Human Services Police, NJ Division of Fish and Wildlife (2 separate police units) NJ Division of Gaming Enforcement, NJ Division of Taxation, NJ Division of Weights and Measures (stop! or we’ll shoot the ruler!), NJ Juvenile Justice Commission, NJ Office of Homeland Security, NJ Election Law Enforcement Commission, NJ State Commission of Investigation, New Jersey State Detectives, NJ State Park Police, NJ State Parole Officers, and last but not least, NJ Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

Ayup, even the friends of Fido can slap you in handcuffs and toss you in the hoosegow.

But wait, there’s more! The Delaware River Port Authority Police, which isn’t the same as the Delaware River and Bay Authority Police or the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission Police. That’s a lot of cops for one river! Up north we have the Palisades Interstate Parkway Police, the Waterfront Commission of New York Harbor Police, and the guys who rack up more overtime than any other police department in the United States – The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Police Department.

OK, I think I’ve made my point. Anyone who tells you we don’t have enough cops is either a liar or a fool. What’s even more amazing is that 11 years after 9/11 most of those agencies listed above don’t even try to work together. They don’t coordinate, communicate, or collaborate. Each is its own fiefdom, jealously guarded.

They like it that way. Because anytime one of their absolutely essential officers is laid off due to budget cuts they can shed crocodile tears over the perceived loss of manpower. Asking another agency to pick up the “slack?” Not in the law enforcement vernacular.

And anyway, as the Romney campaign has already noted, we already tried lavishing billions on hiring new cops, except it was so poorly executed the money went pretty much everywhere except for saving the targeted jobs.

As Instapundit is fond of noting, “When they talk about taxes it’s always for teachers, firemen, and police – but when they spend your taxes, it always seems to go to some guy in a leather chair downtown you never heard of.”